Phillies' Luis Garcia: From the salon to the major leagues in four months

Phillies call-up was out of baseball the previous two years.

July 09, 2013|By Mandy Housenick, Of The Morning Call

PHILADELPHIA — A cape, shears and an electric razor comprised Luis Garcia's arsenal the last two years. He was working hard at learning the trade of a hair stylist.

When his hours at the salon were complete, Garcia wrapped a protective support belt around his waist for his job at a moving company.

Garcia figured his playing days were over after having been out of professional baseball for two years (2011-12). He tossed the ball around sparingly when he gave instruction to local kids and played in a few pick-up games.

Early this spring, Sal Agostinelli, the Philadelphia Phillies' director of international scouting, got wind of a guy in New Jersey throwing in the mid-to-upper 90s with just the right physique and makeup. A few of Agostinelli's baseball buddies insisted he shouldn't wait any longer to get a glimpse of him.

Agostinelli, who travels all over the world in search of the next great international player, was heading to do some scouting in the Dominican Republic the next day. Not wanting to miss his chance at seeing Garcia, Agostinelli called a friend who owned a batting cage in Long Island (where Agostinelli lives) and asked if he could watch a pitcher throw there. His friend opened the cage at 8 a.m. the next day — March 25.

"It's literally one of those things as a scout that you dream about," Agostinelli told The Morning Call.

The guy Agostinelli, who spent 10 years in the minor leagues, including two with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons (Philadelphia's previous Triple-A affiliate), was watching was Garcia.

The 26-year-old right-hander was throwing gas. He was regularly hitting 94 mph on the radar gun and got it up to 97 and 98. Plus, he had an impressive slider.

Agostinelli dug his phone out of his pocket and punched in the phone numbers for Mike Ondo, the Phillies director of professional scouting, and Steve Noworyta, assistant director of player development, to see if they could dig up any scoop on Garcia.

"I saw he was once traded for Ronnie Belliard in a major league deal," Agostinelli said. "I said, 'Well that's interesting. … I was looking at the kids throwing down there [in Clearwater at spring training]. I said [to front office members], 'I know he's 26. But let's give him an opportunity to fly down and throw for us.' "

When Agostinelli got the green light, he called Garcia and suggested he hop on a plane to Florida to head to the Carpenter Complex. Everyone, Agostinelli said, was impressed.

"You see a big arm like that and you have to take a chance on a guy like that," Noworyta told The Morning Call.

By April 22, the Phillies signed Garcia to a free-agent contract and he was added to Clearwater's roster. After striking out 20 and walking five in 19 2/3 innings pitched, he was promoted to Double-A Reading on May 29. He posted a 2.45 ERA with 13 strikeouts and three walks in 11 innings pitched before he was off again.

On June 25, Garcia landed in Lehigh Valley, where he posted a 1.29 ERA. In seven innings, he walked four and struck out six.

Now, two-and-a- half months after making his Phillies professional debut, Garcia, who spent six years in the minor leagues, including 2012 with the Newark Bears (an independent team), had his contract purchased by the Phillies on Tuesday when the club demoted Phillippe Aumont to Lehigh Valley.

Garcia was sitting in the bullpen at Citizens Bank Park for Tuesday's game against the Washington Nationals hoping to make his major league debut.

"This is something," said Agostinelli, who's responsible for bringing Carlos Ruiz, Freddy Galvis and Antonio Bastardo to the organization. "This kid is a really, really humble, nice kid. He saw me downstairs [Tuesday after he got promoted] and he almost started crying. He's very grounded. He's a person that deserves this opportunity."